Leaf Cave
by Blazingstar of ThunderClan
Summary: -"Don't be so embarrassed. We're friends."- Dovepaw and Tigerheart sneak out and share the best night ever together. Fluffy one-shot.


**A/N: Here's a one-shot about TigerXDove! I shipped them all the way through _Fading Echoes_! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Warriors characters or anything else.**

"Where is it?" Tigerheart hissed in the darkness, padding along beside her.

"Just a little further," Dovepaw promised.

The bright moonlight lit their path as Dovepaw quietly led him to the clearing in ThunderClan territory.

Her eyes lit up with excitement. "We're almost there!" She pelted across the clearing, Tigerheart hard on her paws. Finally she stopped once they'd reached the edge of the grass. "There it is," she mewed, flicking her tail toward a pile of leaves in front of her.

"You wanted to show me... leaves? Are they from StarClan or something?" Tigerheart asked, confused and disappointed.

Dovepaw rolled her eyes. "No, not the leaves. Look." She batted the leaves aside with her paw, revealing that they had been covering a hidden hole in the ground that was about a tail-length wide and looked pretty deep. "Come on," she murmured, squeezing down into the hole head-first.

"Wait for me!"

She laughed, her voice muffled. "Hurry up!"

"Hey, it's a tunnel," he said as he climbed in and Dovepaw began to lead him deeper into the ground. The narrow tunnel widened as they padded on, and soon became wide enough for them to walk side-by-side.

Tigerheart twined his tail with her's as they walked together. "How did you find this tunnel?" he asked gently.

Dovepaw's pelt warmed at the handsome tom's touch. "That's a long story," she mewed, slightly embarrassed as she felt his curious gaze on her hot pelt. She stopped walking. "Look," she breathed.

The tunnel had suddenly opened up to a huge underground cave. The cave was rounded, with tall, rough, rocky earth walls and a soft dirt floor, and big enough to almost fit an entire Clan. Boulders of all sizes were scattered all across the floor, and the whole cave was colored a mixture of brown and different shades of green from moss. There were a few ledges on the walls to stand on, and a dark, sparkling puddle of water about six tail-lengths wide and three tail-lengths deep in the middle of the floor to drink from, but other than that the beautiful cave was utterly empty.

"Do you like it?" Dovepaw asked hopefully.

"It's absolutely amazing. _You're_ amazing! How on Earth did you ever discover this?" Without waiting for an answer, he ran over to the puddle and took a quick sip. "The water tastes so good!" he exclaimed.

She smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

He padded back over to her. "But why did you bring _me _to come see it? Why not Lionblaze or Whitewing?"

"I... I was kinda hoping we could come here every night and be together, and not have to worry about anycat catching us," she admitted sheepishly. "But if you don't want to, that's fine," she added quickly, staring down at her paws.

He chuckled. "Of course I want to, mouse-brain. Don't be so embarassed. We're friends." He pressed his muzzle into her shoulder.

She twined her tail with his, and they both closed their eyes as she pressed her head into his chest and he rested his head on top of her's. _I never want this to end_, Dovepaw thought, enjoying having their pelts wrapped around each other like they were.

"Dovepaw..." Tigerheart said uncertainly after a few moments.

She lifted her head and met his eyes. "What is it?"

"I... I think I'm... I really like you," he admitted, his pelt growing warm.

Her heart pounded, and she couldn't help but feel shy for a brief moment. Then she smirked. "Don't be so embarrassed, mouse-brain. We're friends," she mocked him playfully.

He broke into a grin. "I'm serious! I really like you!"

After a few moments of silence, he spoke softly. "Do you like me back?"

She jumped up, startling him. "You'll have to catch me if you want to find out!"

And then she sped off, leaving him sprawled on the floor. "Hey!" he called, pounding after her.

She leaped from boulder to boulder in a zigzag pattern, making it harder for him to gain any ground. He tried to cut her off a few times, but she was too quick, and always barely escaped his paws.

Finally she came to a boulder in the middle of the cave that was separated by the puddle of water from the next one she wanted to get to. She had a quick choice to make: leap over the puddle to the next boulder, or leap to the boulder behind her and risk being caught by Tigerheart.

The choice was obvious: she leaped over the puddle.

_Splash! _She barely missed the boulder and landed roughly in the dark water. Coughing and shivering, she hurried out of the puddle with her fur plastered to her side.

"Dovepaw!" Tigerheart's worried voice came from behind her, on the boulder she had come from. Jumping down, he ran up to her and began grooming her fur as she lay, her pelt hot with embarassment despite the cold water, on the floor of the cave.

"You need to be more careful," he scolded lightly between licks.

After a few moments of peaceful silence broken only by the sound of Tigerheart's tongue lapping at her damp pelt, she spoke. "Tigerheart?"

"Yeah?"

She hesitated. "You know I love you, right?"

He purred loudly. "I never actually _caught_ you. But I love you too, Dovepaw."

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Now review please, and check out my community!**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles **


End file.
